Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad ZarifReuters

A senior state official said Monday night that contrary to political estimates in Israeli media as well as Prime Minister Binyamin's Netanyahu's warnings an agreement between Iran and Western powers by March 31 is not certain, Channel 10 reports. 

Netanyahu has been pressing the necessity of an address to the United States Congress in March saying that negotiations have reached their "money time."

However, at a briefing for political reporters, the official noted that negotiations between all the parties has been going on since the end of 2013, and will not, he estimated, conclude before their deadline at the end of March. 

Therefore, he estimated "there will be no agreement at all costs." 

"At this point, a lot depends on Iran and the difficult decisions it will have to make," the official said, going into further detail on the issue. 

"There are still significant gaps [between Iran and the Western powers], and it is hard to see any type of bridge or agreement in Iran's demand to remove all sanctions, as well as other important components." 

Additionally, the official noted, "there is still no profound change in Iran about the concessions they will make to achieve an agreement. We are not seeing a strategic decision and a willingness to make concessions on the part of [Iranian Supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei."

The official added that no one can really predict for sure if there will be an agreement in the near future. 

However, if a crisis does occur in the midst of negotiations, "it can sharpen dilemmas for Iran and lead to the achievement of an agreement on better terms."

"The combination of political pressure and economic sanctions increases the chances of better results in the negotiations," he continued.

"Putting pressure on Iran won't guarantee they reach a [favorable] agreement, but the absence of that pressure will ensure an agreement is not signed."